


Summerween Soiree

by tacomuerte



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: But not too much angst..., F/F, Humor!, Other tags as they occur to me!, TEENAGE ANGST!, romance!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-09
Updated: 2015-09-18
Packaged: 2018-04-19 19:02:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4757462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tacomuerte/pseuds/tacomuerte
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thanks to her dumb brother visiting a college for the weekend and being all responsible, Mabel is short a partner for Summerween costume fun. That is until her good friend, Pacifica, agrees to be her partner if Mabel will attend Pacifica's Summerween bash!</p><p>The weekend is looking up! Now all Mabel has to do is keep reminding herself she's not in love with her beautiful blonde friend... Easy-peasy right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, again! This is a lighter, fluffier (to an extent) work than my ongoing mystery fiction. Basically, I write other stories while my wonderful beta/editor explains all the ways I failed in my main story! (Mysteries are hard, ya'll!)
> 
> This story was inspired by a lovely piece of art by syrva found at http://syrva.deviantart.com/art/Witch-AU-535536138. 
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> (Oh, and there may be a sequel to this at some point if there's interest.)

Mabel slipped into a bathrobe and some fuzzy slippers, and settled down to Duck-Tective a la Mode, which consisted of a Friday night marathon of her favorite cartoon and as much ice cream as she could hold. She was now halfway through her pint of Choco-Fudge Blast ice cream. Well… her first pint at least. It probably wouldn’t be her last.

”Alone at last,” Mabel said to no one in particular. “No one around to tell me what to do or bother me with stupid monster mysteries.” She frowned. “Yep… master of my own destiny… for the weekend at least.”

Dipper, Grunkle Stan, and Grunkle Ford were out of town visiting a university her brother was super excited about attending next year after the long grind of high school was finally over, so she had the Shack to herself. Mabel would usually have used the opportunity to be social and have had a sleepover tonight and attend Pacifica’s Summerween party for all the teens in town tomorrow night, but Mabel was still figuring out if it was possible to navigate friendship again with Candy after briefly dating her last summer meaning sleepovers had been on indefinite hiatus for over a year, and West Coast Tech had called wanting to schedule a visit-slash-interview with Dipper as soon as possible. Ford insisted you didn’t make West Coast Tech wait, meaning no costume partner for Summerween partying. Mabel thought Grunkle Ford was projecting a bit wanting Dipper to go to the dream university he had been denied when he was younger, but in fairness, Dipper had geeked out when the call came, so she couldn’t really be too bummed at least until he was out of sight. She wouldn’t have felt right making him feel guilty.

The surprise had been Stan’s insistence on driving them. He had come to Mabel privately and told her that one of his biggest regrets in life was screwing up Ford’s chance to attend WCT. He wanted to make it a family trip with all four Pines, but Mabel hadn’t wanted to go. Stan had agreed to leave Mabel in Gravity Falls and in charge of the Mystery Shack after she insisted that walking around a university listening to eggheads go on about how smart they were for an entire weekend was her definition of a special kind of hell, and she would rather summon Bill and sign away her immortal soul instead… which was possibly a bit dramatic. It had worked though. Seeing the wisdom of not pushing her to make a deal with a literal demon, Stan had relented. At least if she had to miss Summerween and the traditional themed costume with Dipper, she could watch cartoons and eat ice cream.

Right in the middle of Duck-Tective’s evil twin monologuing his latest nefarious plot during an epic battle on top of Big Ben, there was a knock on the door. Mabel sighed and hit pause thankful that she and Dipper had _finally_ convinced Grunkle Stan to get a DVR. She lived in hope that maybe someday he would update the wifi to something approaching 21st century reasonable. Feeling grumpy, she took the ice cream with her and shoved a big bite into her mouth just as she opened the door. A lost tourist who had stumbled across the shack this late at night didn’t deserve the Mabel Extravaganza Greeting.

But it wasn’t a lost tourist. It was Pacifica Northwest, who had once long ago been Mabel’s rival and now counted as a good friend to the Pine twins—and Mabel suspected maybe more than a good friend for Dipper. Pacifica seemed a bit shocked at the sight of Mabel, which wasn’t surprising. Pacifica looked like she was dressed to go to the country club, and Mabel was rocking the ratty, trailer park look.

“Mmai, Mmphiphica,” Mabel said around the spoonful of ice cream.

Pacifica cocked her head to the side in an effort to interpret. “I’m guessing that’s a greeting?”

Mabel nodded and swallowed. “C’mon in,” she said removing the spoon from her mouth. She stepped to the side letting her friend enter, thankful that Pacifica had given up years ago pretending the Shack was dirty and gross because doing the “we’re not _really_ friends” dance was too exhausting considering Mabel’s mood. She really liked Pacifica and found a lot to admire about her. She was beautiful and smart and incredibly sweet once you got past the layers of defense mechanisms. Mabel also strongly suspected Pacifica returned the crush that Dipper obviously had. He could certainly do worse. 

What she couldn’t figure out was why the willowy blonde heiress would put up with all the weird junk and weirder monsters that infested the twins’ life otherwise, but she had to admit Pacifica and Dipper had a connection. They talked almost as much as Mabel and Dipper did. Pacifica wasn’t nearly as keen on supernatural mysteries, though. Mabel thought that was probably for the best. Dipper got them into enough jams already.

“Want some ice cream, P?” Mabel asked. “Got plenty.”

Pacifica shut the door behind her upon entering and followed Mabel towards the tv room. “Um, no thanks,” she responded no doubt dubious seeing Mabel not being her usual perky self. “My parents think I should be more careful watching my weight.” She shrugged. “Can’t be a chubby cheerleader, can I?”

Mabel’s stopped abruptly and gave Pacifica the most wide-eyed, incredulous stare she had picked up from years of being on the receiving end of them from Dipper, who was practically a Jedi master of incredulity. Pacifica wasn’t even close to being overweight and could easily get a job as a model in under five minutes. Sometimes, Mabel felt maybe a tad jealous. Where Pacifica had delicate features and soft, blonde hair, Mabel had a prominent nose and bold eyebrows and thick, chestnut tangles she had to force into submission every morning. Where Pacifica had a slim, athletic figure, Mabel had curves… which okay she liked but there wasn’t a single outfit in the world the blonde didn’t completely rock effortlessly. Mabel had to be very particular with the cut of blouses or there was a better than average chance of putting on a show she didn’t intend.

Pacifica looked suitably chastised, but Mabel decided to spoon out a sizable scoop of ice cream and shove it at Pacifica’s mouth to reinforce the point. That left the blonde two choices. She could eat the ice cream or wear the ice cream. Mabel supposed that Pacifica could take the unexpected route and spit the ice cream back at her. It was a risk she was prepared to take because honestly that would be hilarious and might pull her out of her twinless funk.

Pacifica opted to eat the ice cream although she did give Mabel a vigorous sigh as the spoon approached. Instantly, she rolled her eyes with pleasure and let out a slight moan. “Ohmagof! Soooooooguf,” Pacifica mumbled savoring the chocolaty dessert.

Mabel put a spoonful in her own mouth. “Ahnorife?” She responded, wiggling her eyebrows. She swallowed and said, “Have a seat, P, and I’ll get you a pint. We’re watching Duck-Tective tonight.” She headed towards the kitchen.

Pacifica called from the tv room. “We? No one else seems to be here. Where are Dipper and your grunkles? Are you alone for the entire weekend, M?”

Mabel grabbed a spoon and a second pint from the freezer, happy she had decided to stock up. “They’re gone to California to visit West Coast Tech! ‘We’ means you and me!” she shouted back.

When she reentered the tv room, Pacifica was sitting on the couch that Ford had insisted on buying so that everyone could have a seat while watching television, and not just Stan who had his easy chair and had no problem with everyone else sitting on the floor. Pacifica was looking at her with a wry smile and arched eyebrow holding up two familiar pieces of paper. They were the letters of regret Mabel had dropped off with the butler at the Northwest residence declining the Summerween invitation.

“Did I screw up the letters? I would have given them to you and explained, but Jeeves said you were out shopping for the party,” she said as she passed the ice cream and spoon to Pacifica. She wasn’t sure why Pacifica would have brought the letters all the way back for Mabel to rewrite them or something.

“His name is Gregory, not Jeeves,” Pacifica explained for about the thousandth time.

Mabel shrugged and said, “Jeeves will get over it. Anyway, sorry if I screwed up the protocol.”

Pacifica blushed. “I was counting on the two of you attending,” she said hesitantly. “It won’t be the same without you. Dipper and I had been talking about it for weeks.”

Ah, so that was it. Pacifica was disappointed Dipper wasn’t coming. It was cute but slightly annoying that Mabel had to clean up her brother’s mess, and that she felt more like her attendance was a courtesy to her brother. Still, Mabel preferred seeing Pacifica and Dipper happy. She decided she should smooth things over for Dipper. He should have done this himself and would owe her big time. “It came up all of a sudden. West Coast Tech had someone cancel and the grunkles flipped out insisting he go.” She shrugged. “It sucks. I think missing your Summerween party is way worse than not getting into a dumb university. I know Dipper was bummed, too.”

“Thanks,” Pacifica answered with a small smile. She was obviously sad. “So… you’re not coming either?”

Mabel grunted around a mouthful of ice cream. So _now_ Pacifica was concerned about her attendance? She swallowed and said, “It’s just too depressing, P. I worked so hard on our costumes. Dipper was going to be a wizard, and I have a witch outfit that’s just so perfect…”

“Oh,” was all Pacifica said in response. She looked completely defeated and idly swirled her spoon in her ice cream.

Mabel was struck by inspiration. “Unless… how do you feel about corsets?” She asked with a wide grin.

Pacifica blinked. “I… I don’t think I feel any particular way about corsets.”

Mabel scooted over to sit shoulder to shoulder with her friend. She laid her head on Pacifica’s shoulder. “I could use a costume partner, and I could _easily_ repurpose my pirate costume from last year to a super-cool witch costume and we could be like a mini-coven or something! The only hard part would be the hat, but I’m certain I can do it!” The more Mabel thought about it, the more excited she became. She had never considered a costume partner other than Dipper, but Pacifica was practically a model anyway and would look amazing in a Mabel Special. She grinned up at Pacifica hoping very much her friend accepted. Mabel figured she could also give the Dipper and Pacifica match a bit of a nudge. It would be a great opportunity to talk up her brother since his idea of approaching girls was charitably described as glacial. On his own, he might ask her out in a couple of decades.

“I don’t know, M,” Pacifica responded with a bit of a whine. “I already have a costume. A designer from Italy created a princess costume just for me.” She looked pained, and Mabel decided she must not trust Mabel’s vision. It was time to give her the Full Mabel.

“C’mon, Pacifica! Pleeeeeeeeaaaaaase?” She begged as she transitioned her head from Pacifica’s shoulder to lay in the blonde’s lap and look up at her with her best kitten eyes. “You’ll be so beautiful, and I promise I won’t embarrass you!”

Pacifica’s furrowed her eyebrows and looked at Mabel with complete earnestness. “I’m never embarrassed by you, Mabel. I’m sorry you think I am.”

Mabel hadn’t meant to offend her friend. “I didn’t mean it that way, P!” She said sitting up. “I guess I’m just used to my brother who complains if he has to wear anything more involved than a t-shirt. Forgive me?”

Pacifica smiled at her with another hint of blush coloring her cheeks at the mention of Dipper. “Of course… and… yes, I would love for you to make me a costume. I’m sure my parents will understand,” she said.

”Your parents?”

Mabel's stomach sank at their mention.

Pacifica nodded. “They commissioned the designer.”

Mabel wasn’t so sure about that they would understand, and she felt horrible for making the offer of a costume. Pacifica’s parents were unpleasant snobs on their best days, and if offered a choice between Mabel’s couture and some fancy designer… well, it wasn’t a choice actually. “Are you sure, P? I know your parents must have spent a fortune on your costume. I mean… I would _love_ to partner with you on costumes, but I’ve caused enough trouble between you and your parents. I don’t think they like me much already.” There was no _think_ to it. After the regrettable grappling hook gun incident last year involving the Northwest mansion’s 100-year-old crystal chandeliers, they reserved a special hatred for Mabel.

Pacifica grimaced but quickly recovered giving Mabel a tender smile. She definitely remembered the carnage. “I’m sure, M. You’re really brilliant, and I would love to wear a costume you’ve made just for me.” 

“Well… okay. I’ll need to measure you tonight and it will be a decent amount of work…” Mabel ran calculations on time in her head. “I can do it. Can you give me two hours tomorrow to finish fitting you and make alterations? I could use a ride to the party anyway. The boys took the car to California, and I’m honestly not feeling the golf cart if I’m wearing my full costume.”

Pacifica nodded. “I can do that. Would it be okay if I had our driver pick you up, and we can do it at my place? That way I’ll be there to supervise setup. This is the first authorized party my parents have ever allowed me to throw.”

“Yeah… I’m so sorry about the chandeliers,” Mabel replied remembering the unauthorized party last year and feeling heat rise in her cheeks. The chandeliers might have been the least of the damage.

Pacifica blushed as well and avoided eye contact with Mabel. “You weren’t the one that brought out the Patrón and insisted everyone try it.”

Mabel thought Pacifica was really great about not holding that night against her. Not only had she wrecked several chandeliers, but she had done so pretending to be a swashbuckling Musketeer rescuing the beautiful Princess Pacifica by swinging from chandelier fixtures one after the other. Mabel had never drank alcohol before that night except for the occasional glasses of wine at holiday events with her family, and she had completely embarrassed herself… and everyone else… especially Pacifica with whom she had shamelessly flirted despite Dipper being right there… not too mention Candy having a front row seat, too, which was an abrupt end to _that_ relationship as far as romance went at least.

“Yeah,” Mabel said sheepishly. “Not my finest hour.”

Pacifica chuckled. “I don’t know. You were very dashing.”

The two girls burst into laughter. Pacifica hung out for a couple of hours afterward, and they pigged out on ice cream and laughed at cartoons together. Afterwards, Mabel took Pacifica’s somewhat annoyingly perfect measurements, and then she showed off her own costume. While her friend was there, Mabel felt so much better than she had since being left to her own devices. Hangout time with Pacifica was just what Mabel had needed. She always made Mabel feel happy just being there.


	2. Chapter 2

Pacifica left around midnight, and Mabel waved goodbye to her as she pulled out of the Mystery Shack’s parking lot. She had wanted Pacifica to stay the night since the forest had an unfortunate amount of strange creatures, but her friend had insisted in her very Pacifica way that she would be fine. And she would be. Any monster messing with Pacifica had severely underestimated their prey.

Mabel had after much debate obtained a promise of a text though once Pacifica made it home. Mabel waited for almost half an hour before Pacifica texted, and the knot in her stomach untied itself when the text came through. She felt annoyed at herself for being worried. Pacifica wasn’t helpless, and Mabel was most definitely not a worrier. Maybe it was just being alone in the Shack for the weekend. This weighed on her as she went through her nightly routine before bed which included moisturizers, cleansers, and other assorted skin care plus letting Waddles in for the evening. He oinked happily at her, but that didn’t cheer her up either. She felt like she wasn’t being very Mabel today.

“Speaking of out of character…” Mabel said and sat down on her bed. She picked up her phone off the nightstand, glanced at the clock which said it was a few minutes past one in the morning, and texted her brother to call her if he was still awake. She was betting he was still up, excited for his school visit tomorrow.

Moments later, her phone rang. She was glad because Dipper had some explaining to do.

She answered the phone saying, “Hi, Dipper.”

“Hey, everything okay?” He asked by way of greeting.

“Oh, yeah. Great. Guess who came by tonight?”

“Um… Grenda?” She could hear confusion in his voice.

“No. Pretty blonde… obviously annoyed that you ditched her party without a word after promising you would go. Oh, she’s also the girl you had been making party plans with for weeks… which by the way, _today_ is the first time I’m hearing about this.. Any guesses?”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. ‘Oh.’ Good job, Bro-Bro, leaving me to take the hit for you.” Mabel looked over at Waddles who was busy rooting around on Dipper’s bed making a nest. “Hold on,” she told her brother and spoke to her pig. “It’s okay, Waddles. Dipper won’t mind.”

“... I won’t mind what exactly?”

“Waddles gets to sleep in your bed while you’re away. He’s busy nesting.”

“Ah. Well, that’s passive-aggressive.”

Mabel smiled smugly. “I have no idea what you mean.”

“Yeah, sure. So how did Pacifica find out exactly? I was going to call her first thing in the morning.”

“I hand-delivered our regrets seeing as we couldn’t make it tomorrow night. She wasn’t there, but came over to see what had happened to you after she found out.”

“Our regrets? You aren’t going?”

“No, I didn’t feel like it since I don’t have a costume partner… or at least I didn’t. I sorta convinced her to be my new costume partner.” Mabel didn’t want to admit how much she was looking forward to that, and she was surprised at herself over how eager she was. She had never thought she would be excited to partner up with anyone else for costumes.

“So she’s not wearing the princess costume?”

“You knew about that?” Mabel declined to call him on the fact that this was the first time in her memory that he had ever paid attention to what a person was wearing. He would just go through his usual routine of denying everything.

“Well,” he began hesitantly. “She had asked me to wear a prince costume the designer had made to match her princess costume.”

Mabel sat up straight. “What? And you were going to tell me you weren’t going to wear the wizard costume I spent weeks making… when exactly?”

“I… er… was still working on that.”

“The party is tomorrow, Dipper!”

“I know! It’s just I hadn’t figured out how to tell you, and then the phone call from WCT came and.... you know…”

“Yeah, you were going to leave me hanging, and now you’ve bailed on Pacifica giving her lots of time to sort things out now that her date has ditched her.”

“What? Date? No, it's not like that, Sis.”

Mabel made a disgusted sound at the phone. “Seriously, Dipper, it’s obvious she’s into you, and it’s obvious you’re into her. She asked you to be her prince, and she was going to be your princess. At this point, you’re either stringing her along, or you’re socially as dumb as a rock.”

“Mabel, you’ve got it all wrong…”

She cut him off. “Oh, how so? You don’t spend roughly half your free time talking to her? You don’t make secret plans with her without telling me? She _literally_ wants you to play the prince to her princess at her Summerween party with the whole town there! She's staking out her territory in front of the entire town, Dippy.”

“Hyperbole much, Mabel? She does not want me to be her prince. Also, secret plans? What are you talking about?”

“Dipper,” she complained struggling to keep the whine out of her voice. “Pacifica was very specific. You and she were talking about this date-party-thing for weeks. I wasn't involved at all. Translation: It was secret from me.”

“Well…”

“ _Weeks_ , Dipper. And the best I could get out of you were noncommittal grunts when I brought up Summerween plans.”

“First, it’s not a date. She wants this party to go well, and it’s important because things are strained with her parents…”

Mabel interrupted her brother. “When aren’t things strained with her parents?” 

“That’s a perfectly salient point, but let me finish, okay?”

“Fine.” Mabel blew out a frustrated breath.

“Second, these aren’t secret plans. It’s just… Pacifica’s working through some stuff she isn’t ready to talk about yet, and I’m a neutral party.”

“'Stuff.' Can you be more vague? And I’m not neutral?”

“Okay, how do I put this? Have you ever been neutral about anything in your entire life, Mabel?”

“Sure. At some point… about something. Definitely.” She was struggling to think of when, but she was sure there were topics about which she wouldn’t care one way or the other.

“Disinterest isn’t neutrality,” Dipper responded. Sometimes she really hated Twin Telepathy.

“Yeah, whatever.”

“Let’s discuss an example since you won’t concede the obvious point!”

“Do we have to?” Dipper was annoying when he decided she needed a lecture which was frequently.

“Yes,” he said immediately and taking Mabel’s lack of immediate response for assent, pushed on. “Remember the time that Pacifica wanted to return the favor for all those sleepovers you hosted?”

“That was perfectly innocent.” Of course, he would bring this up. Mabel had always felt sure last summer’s party had upset him, but if he was bringing it up now, then she felt vindicated in her theory about his feelings for Pacifica. 

Dipper gave an unbelieving, disgusted snort.

“It was!” She insisted.

“When Pacifica casually mentioned—as a joke, Mabel—that she might get grounded if her parents found out she was throwing a sleepover-slash-party without permission, you decided to ‘rescue her’ from her parents’ ‘evil clutches’ with your grappling hook gun.” 

Mabel could hear the idiotic air quotes in his voice. She hated when he did that. “I had never drunk tequila before, Dipper!” And she doubted she would ever trust the vile liquid again.

“And this reflects on your ability to remain neutral… how precisely?”

Mabel grunted at the phone in response.

“Charming. Look, all I’m saying is you’re an action-oriented friend. And right now maybe Pacifica needs a more… listening-oriented friend.”

“I can listen!”

“And then act.”

“Whatever. So I’m a bad friend. Got it.” This conversation had been intended to lightly chastise her younger brother and nudge him towards his inevitable, awkward attempt to ask Pacifica out. Suddenly, it was about her lousy friendship skills. All of her good feelings from earlier were flying out the window like a bird flapping its way towards the sunset.

“I promise I'm not criticizing you, and I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

“Good job, Dipping Sauce,” Mabel muttered into the phone.

“I’m sorry. Really. I’m just trying to say she only wanted to talk to someone who wouldn’t… take matters into their own hands, you know?”

“Yes, Pacifica needs you. Not me.” The words hurt. Eventually, Dipper would ask out Pacifica. They would be perfect together, and Mabel wouldn’t be necessary after that.

She could hear Dipper’s frustrated sigh. “There was literally no way this conversation wasn’t going to go off the rails considering all the factors involved, was it?”

“I don’t know. What factors?” She could hear how bitter she sounded. She didn't want to feel this way, but couldn't seem to help it.

“Just…” Dipper sighed obviously losing patience. “You really don’t see… I mean… Seriously? Look, the fact you’re on the phone to yell at me for not dating Pacifica proves my point that you don’t really do neutrality… especially when it comes to her, Mabel.”

“Okay, you’re right. I’m wrong. I get it. Happy?”

“No, not really. I should have talked to you sooner about the party. I promise I’ll make this up to you, okay? We can do costumes for any holiday you like for as many years as you like.”

“I’m not the only one you flaked on, Dipper, and like you said, things are strained with her parents. Pacifica deserves to be happy. She’s my friend, and she’s so obviously into you. You’re kinda perfect for each other, and I just wish you could see that because she’s right there waiting for you to make the move.” 

“No matter how many times I tell you you’re misreading, you aren’t going to drop this are you?”

“Nope.”

“Then I’m going to simply not engage with that topic, but trust me that I already have a plan for the party.”

“Plan? Are you coming back?” She would need to completely revise her costume plans. Actually, she should do that anyway since according to Dipper who had an infuriating knack for being right, she would undoubtedly wreak havoc again on Pacifica’s event. It might be better if she got “sick” in the morning and bowed out.

“No, I can’t, but I’ll call Pacifica first thing tomorrow and tell her my plan.”

“Wait, are you going to photocopy yourself again? That didn’t work when we were kids and it won’t work now.”

“No, that hadn’t occurred to me. Maybe…” 

“No, Dipper. It’s a bad idea.”

“Yeah,” he admitted. “You’re probably right, but that wasn’t my plan. Gideon owes me a favor…”

“Whoa!” She stopped him immediately. “You really think I’m going to allow you to push that nasty, little dweeb at Pacifica?” This was completely unacceptable, and Mabel needed to let her brother know just how stupid an idea he had before he went any further.

“He’s changed, Mabel. Ever since the…” 

“No.”

There was silence for a long moment as both twins tried to not lose their tempers. Dipper started again. “You’re not even going to let me explain?”

“I will fight you.” She couldn’t believe he was considering having that hateful slimeball be a part of any plan involving Pacifica.

“Seriously? Like fists and everything?” He sounded astonished.

“If that loser comes within one hundred yards of Pacifica, I will knock him into next week, and then I’m coming after you. There are a lot of things I’ll put up with, but Pacifica deserves better than to date someone who isn’t ever going to amount to anything.”

“Deserves better, huh?”

“Yes. How is that even a question? Are you saying she doesn’t?”

“You’re saying that Gideon whose family owns a good chunk of Gravity Falls won’t amount to anything?”

“Well…”

“So Pacifica deserves better than Gideon, or are you saying she deserves better than a person who doesn’t believe she’ll ever do anything important despite her patient, saintly brother insisting she has done and will continue to do important things?”

Mabel sat there in stunned silence. 

“Mabel? Are you still there?”

"What are you trying to say, Dipper?" If he was suggesting what she thought, she might soon be in jail for strangling her brother the next time she saw him. This was taking denial to new levels.

"Clearly that I'm not the one 'into Pacifica' as you put it. You are."

After several seconds of spluttering incoherently she finally managed to respond. “I can’t believe you said that. I’m her friend, Dipper. Just her friend. You’re the one she likes and what even gives you the idea that I would do that to her or…”

“Wait, hold on. What you just said… do what to her?”

Mabel shifted uncomfortably. “She’s smart and sophisticated. I’m not either of those things, and it’s safe to say everyone knows. I’m the wacky comic relief. But you? You’re like the smartest guy in the world. Sure, you aren’t sophisticated…”

“Thanks.”

“Shut up. You aren’t, but you could be. You guys are perfect for each other, and you’re just too hung up on looking for that tall redhead of your dreams…”

“Stop. Just stop, okay?” He paused to make sure she would and then continued. “That isn’t fair, and yes I may like redheads, but you’re out of line.”

Mabel took several deep breaths. “You’re right, and I’m sorry.”

“Thank you. So you don’t think you’re smart or sophisticated. Well, you _are_ smart, Mabel, and I think you underrate your level of sophistication.”

She laughed at that. “I’m a goofy hippie. That’s not really debatable, Dip-Dip.”

“I _really_ wish you wouldn’t underestimate yourself so much, Mabel.” 

Her only response was a sigh.

“Seriously,” he continued. “You’re sweet and charming and fun and smarter than you think and you have the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever met, and as weird as it is for a brother to say it, you don’t have to worry about looks either. Just trust yourself and be honest about how you feel about Pacifica.”

“I don’t feel that way about her, Dipper. We’re just friends,” she said somewhat too feebly for her own liking.

“Really? You sure do spend a lot of time trying to figure out her dating life almost like you really need her to be off the market.”

“That is ridiculous. Why would I need that? Has it occurred to you that I think you guys would just be happy? I think we both know I’m good at matchmaking.”

“Mabel, I’ve tried to not get in the middle of this, but you keep trying to make something happen which just isn’t going to happen. Look, I think you need her off the market because you’re terrified—wrongly, I might add—that you aren’t good enough for her.”

“This is stupid, Dipper,” she said. “She wants to be a princess, and she wants a prince. She didn’t order two princess costumes, so that should clue you in, Mr. Big Brain, about the kind of person she’s attracted to.”

“She didn’t order the costumes. Her parents did.”

“I… That doesn’t matter! Since you so clearly remember last year’s party, why were you invited to a sleepover? It’s not like you have ever indicated an ounce of interest in sleepovers or hanging out with the girls. Well, in a non-datey way at least.”

“She invited me because I’m her best friend.”

“You take that back!” Mabel was furious. She had basically accepted that Dipper and Pacifica dating was set in stone. The idea that she didn’t even rate as “best friend” material was too much.

“Why?” Dipper asked. His voice sounded strained.

“Because… because…” She couldn’t figure out the words.

“Because if you can’t date her, you can at least be her best friend and stay in her life by having your brother date her?” He asked.

“Do you really think I’m that manipulative?”

“Not on purpose, no," he said. Dipper continued in a conciliatory tone. "Mabel, I know you want me to be happy, and I know you want her to be happy, but I also think you aren’t being honest with yourself.”

“You’re taking one very minor incident of harmless flirting and making it into some big declaration of love! That’s just nuts, Dipper!” 

“Harmless flirting? I recall you saying right before you tried to swing her away to freedom… and these were your words, Sis… that she was your beautiful dove and any scalawag that dared mistreat her would taste your steel.”

Mabel didn’t have to look in a mirror to know she was as red as a beet. “I was drunk, Dipper.”

“And then you kissed her on the cheek. Very chastely, I might add.”

“I. Was. Drunk. Dipper,” she said through gritted teeth.

“And then you tried to ‘rescue her’ from the mansion by swinging on your grappling hook through the windows. Fortunately, the chandelier broke preventing you from flinging yourself and Pacifica out a third story window.”

“I am literally never going to live that night down, am I?” She rubbed her forehead feeling a pressure headache coming on.

“Why would you want to live it down?”

Mabel snorted. “Right, sure. Infamy is better than anonymity, huh?”

“Mabel, that was the single most romantic thing I’ve ever witnessed. Also the most Mabel thing I’ve ever witnessed.”

“It was dumb, and I was drunk,” she responded with a groan.

“I’m not going to fight with you about it, Sis. I only want you to be honest about your feelings with yourself at least.”

“You’re sweet, Bro-Bro, but… okay, maybe she is gorgeous and fun and I admit I would be super lucky if she liked me as more than a friend, but she doesn’t. She’s totally into you.”

She could hear him sigh again and imagined he was also rubbing his forehead by this point. “We’re going in circles, Mabel. I love you, Sis. Yes, I’m helping Pacifica through a tough time, but you’re my sister and I am always on your side. I can’t say this enough. I love you. I want you to be happy. I also want Pacifica to be happy, but not at your expense, okay?”

“No,” Mabel answered feeling defeated. “But if she needs someone to listen to her and not do something impulsive, she’s picked the right person. Just keep an open mind, alright? She’s really great, and you would be so happy.”

“Still not engaging. I’ll figure something out for tomorrow, and it won’t involve Gideon.”

Mabel felt her heart unclench. “Thank you,” she responded not trusting herself to say anything else.

“Get some sleep, and have fun at the party tomorrow night. I love you.” 

“Love you. And you get some rest, too. Those West Coast Tech people are going to be amazed.”

“Thanks,” he said and she could feel him beaming all the way from California.

“Bye,” she said hanging up. With the call safely ended, Mabel stared at the phone for a while and then said, “But you’re nuts.” 

Mabel looked over at the mannequin wearing Pacifica’s partially completed costume. There was still a lot of work to do. She considered for a good long time just backing out, but Pacifica seemed so happy when Mabel had shown her the pirate costume and talked about how she was going to modify it, and then Pacifica's face had lit up like it was Christmas morning when Mabel had put the costume on her for an initial fitting. Dipper was totally wrong about Mabel's motives. Pacifica would be stunning tomorrow night, and Mabel would make Dipper crack and finally get him to make his move. She just wanted both of them to be happy. That was definitely her only motivation.


	3. Chapter 3

Mabel stared at the mannequin on which Pacifica's half-complete costume rested. The late-morning sun shone brightly through her attic bedroom window promising a warm, beautiful day, but Mabel felt like it was mocking her with its inexorable rise into the sky measuring just how little time she had left to finish. Somehow, her annoying brother had gotten into her head last night and every brief moment of fitful sleep consisted of dreams about Pacifica. Not that the dreams were unpleasant. No, the problem was they were _too_ pleasant… way too pleasant, in fact. Just remembering caused her cheeks to color. Since she had been unable to sleep soundly, Mabel had decided several hours ago that she would take the opportunity to be productive and work on Pacifica's costume. If her plan had worked, all she would have to do were quick final alterations. It hadn't worked. Progress had been as halting as Dipper's eternal quest to say hello to a girl. Mabel now hoped she could complete it on time and not have it look a complete shambles. Every time she would sew a new section or ponder a cut in the fabric, her mind drifted to how it would look on… and off… Pacifica. And that was wrong. And bad. And maybe if she told herself that often enough, it would sink in.

Shaking her head, Mabel started the packing up process. There was no use dwelling on impossibilities, and anyway this was all Dipper’s fault. She didn’t have those kinds of feelings for Pacifica. She couldn’t. Last night was just some... temporary confusion. That was all. Sighing, she picked up and packed the last part of the costume, which was the witch’s hat. It was the only part of the costume she had made from scratch. It had turned out great if she did say so herself. At least something had went right, and that was a relief. She didn’t need her stupid brain screwing this up.

She checked the time. Pacifica had texted a few minutes ago saying the car was on its way. The plan was for the girls to have lunch and then finish the costume and then set up the party. Pacifica had even excitedly texted that she was going to introduce Mabel to everyone as co-hostess. That wasn't going to be awkward at all for Mabel.

The driver arrived a short time later and helped her load everything into the car. Mabel drifted off on the way to the mansion. A quick catnap wasn’t out of order and would help her focus when she started working on the alterations. She didn’t want to stick Pacifica with random needles because she was nodding off. All too soon, the car pulled up to the doors of the Northwest Manor. It was impressive and imposing and her stomach always dropped a bit at the sight of it. She couldn’t think of a more apt metaphor.

Pacifica had come outside to greet her dressed in a lilac bathrobe made of a thin, clingy material. She opened the door and laughed lightly at Mabel who was rubbing sleep out of her eyes. 

“Hey, sleepyhead,” the blonde said with a gentle smile. “Too early for you?”

Mabel looked up and returned the smile. Pacifica had the clearest blue eyes she had ever seen… and that was a dangerous observation. She frowned at her lack of control over her own thoughts.

“Are you okay, M?” Pacifica asked. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Mabel responded. “Just a bit sleepy.” Those eyes had gotten her into trouble last year, too. Despite being the absolute last thing Mabel wanted to think about right now, her thoughts drifted back to the sleepover. She had done her best to lock memories about that night in a secure, nonthreatening part of her brain forever and ever, but the lack of sleep and Dipper’s insinuations brought everything back…

* * *

The sleepover had started well. Pacifica had invited the Pines twins, Candy, Grenda, and a few of her own less-judgey friends over while her parents were on another one of their frequent vacations in Europe. Mabel thought it had been a bit odd to invite Dipper, but Pacifica had insisted since she and Dipper were nearly inseparable and talked constantly about everything.

Dipper's presence had ended up being far less scandalous than Mabel's and Candy's relationship going by the purposefully indiscreet whispered conversations of the other guests. It wasn’t like the two girls had dropped a PDA-bomb on the party, restricting things to an occasional kiss and a lot of hand-holding, but Pacifica’s school friends were still making a point of showing Mabel that she was definitely not welcome as far as they were concerned. Thankfully, Pacifica had put her foot down as soon as she saw what was happening, telling her other friends they were welcome to start very long walks home if they didn’t like seeing two girls dating. That had shut most of the nonsense down quickly although there were still occasional snide looks.

Pacifica standing up for Mabel was touching. Her friend had come a long way, and Mabel admired her strength and confidence. Mabel needed some of both that night. She and Candy had only been dating for a couple of weeks, and Mabel didn't think it would last much longer. It had started innocently. Candy had asked her if she would like to go to the movies with her. At first, Mabel had thought it was just regular, friendly hanging out, but midway through the film, Candy had very enthusiastically kissed Mabel. After the show was over, Mabel had talked to Candy and had decided to make a tentative go of dating. She had been very clear to her friend she couldn't make any promises and hadn't really thought about Candy that way before, but Candy was cute, and Mabel had always felt that you cared about a person and not their sex.

Nothing in particular had been bad, but Mabel was concerned Candy felt way more spark in the relationship than she did. Going to the party was a good thing, though. So far, they had only went on solo dates that were moving too fast for her both emotionally and physically, and she wanted to see if a date in a group setting helped things move at a more comfortable pace. And the night had started off more relaxed, but as the party went on Candy definitely pushed for more physical affection, especially when others tried to get Mabel’s attention. And the harder Mabel tried to stay out of a groping match, the harder Candy tried to make one happen.

Pacifica had picked up on Mabel’s distress over her date’s escalating neediness and opened her parents' liquor cabinet to make tequila shots as a tension reliever. This was as Pacifica later explained standard operating procedure at parties thrown by her school friends. In retrospect, Mabel thought that perhaps adding alcohol to heightened teenage hormones might have caused more problems than it solved. Mabel had little experience with drinking, but it was a safe setting with several of the Northwest family's serving staff in the house, and Dipper had volunteered to pass in case they needed a sober person for any reason. There were times Mabel was very relieved that her brother was a bit of a stick in the mud. She was still nervous about doing shots, though, and Pacifica had taken her hand, assuring her that there was no pressure to do anything she didn’t want to do or felt uncomfortable doing. That was exactly what Mabel had needed to hear. The unspoken pressure from Candy was wearing on her.

And things started going great after the alcohol began to flow. Pacifica’s friends dropped their snobby act and actually seemed like cool people, and Mabel slipped easily into her usual life-of-the-party mode. Yeah, maybe Candy was a bit obviously annoyed, but after several shots, she came to the very certain conclusion that if Candy wanted to date, the girl would have to learn to quit trying to attach herself at the hip. Mabel was also grateful that Pacifica was frequently checking on her since she had been so nervous before. At one point during one of their frequent conversations, Pacifica told her that the reason she had thrown the party was because she was so happy to be her friend and how Dipper and Mabel had changed her life for the better. Pacifica had said it with such heartfelt earnestness that Mabel couldn’t help but feel honored. She had hugged Pacifica and looked her in the eyes to reinforce her words, which were that any change for the better in Pacifica's life was all her own doing, not Dipper's and definitely not Mabel's and that she didn’t have to thank Mabel for anything. Upon reflection, that deep, meaningful look into Pacifica’s eyes had been the catalyst for all the mistakes to come that night… well, Pacifica's eyes and a stupid amount of tequila. The point stood however that those clear, blue eyes were dangerous. As Mabel reassured Pacifica, something in her brain had clicked, and everything in her universe suddenly made sense. The immediate effect was her insides felt melty and gooey. Part of her wanted to blame the alcohol, and say it was nothing but tequila-addled exuberance, but she knew in her heart that wasn’t the case.

She was in love with Pacifica.

If she was honest with herself, the realization had been a long time coming. Those twinges she felt as Dipper and Pacifica spent more and more time together weren't just small stabs of jealousy over her twin brother having his first Serious Relationship assuming he ever had the courage to take the leap. It dawned on her that Pacifica was the only person she felt completely comfortable being herself around. She loved her family, but life with them wasn't always easy because they and everyone else had a very firm idea of who Mabel was and who Mabel was supposed to be. Even her Grunkle Stan, who seemed to get her better than even her own twin did, always seemed to expect that Mabel would be eternally cheerful and optimistic and ready to joke around. And she liked being that person, but she didn't want to be that person all the time. Pacifica got that because she also had to deal with everyone expecting her to be a certain person, and no one looked any deeper than the surface when it came to either girl. Sometimes, Mabel just wanted to watch a peaceful sunset so she could be quietly sad that a school friend was moving to another state, and sometimes Pacifica wanted to feel the freedom to make a mistake without everyone acting like it was the end of the world.

Taking in Mabel’s encouraging words, Pacifica had hugged her friend tightly, which nearly sent Mabel into a panic. She needed processing time, and she needed to sit down because the world was spinning. Pacifica excused herself to mingle with guests, and Mabel felt torn between wanting to immediately confess and wanting to talk to Dipper because she was sure that her brother and her friend were inching towards a relationship. If that was what they wanted, Mabel did not want to get in the way of that.

Mabel sat down in a corner away from the crowd to try to clear her head. Her stomach twisted in on itself. She didn’t know what to do. She would be completely humiliated if she threw herself at her friend only to find out that Dipper and Pacifica cared about each other. She decided to observe and watch them interact. That seemed… safe. Mabel felt a strong desire for safe at that particular moment.

Her quiet time was short-lived. Candy had seen the embrace and wasn’t happy, and that sent completely different waves of guilt flooding through Mabel. Calming her upset date down took a lot of time and a lot of hugging and a lot of excuses about the tequila making her feel sick to her stomach. She believed she could balance an upset date with observing Pacifica and Dipper. All she had to do was make sure that Dipper and Pacifica talked enough for her to solidify in her thoughts whether they were attracted to each other or not while simultaneously keeping Candy happy. She was going to play it cool for once.

That was what she had intended at least. For the first hour or three, she had succeeded, too, although there were several occasions where nerves and fear almost caused her to blurt out something stupid, but Mabel took advantage of the readily available drinks to calm her nerves and reinforce her courage. Between rounds of shots, she took subtle opportunities to nudge Dipper towards conversations about Pacifica and to do the same when she was interacting with Pacifica as well as pay close attention when the two were together. That had been a great plan and she was excited to put it into action, but then Pacifica had made that joke about her parents grounding her—and as Dipper had said during their conversation the previous night, it was a very obvious lighthearted, off-the-cuff joke, except Mabel could see the hidden touches of fear Pacifica always tried to conceal behind humor about her parents—and all Mabel could think about were those stupid bells Pacifica’s parents had tried to use to train their daughter like she was a naughty puppy and all the sneering judgement they threw at Pacifica making the most wonderful, sweet, beautiful girl that had ever lived feel like dirt. Mabel couldn’t take it any longer.

Despite being plastered, Mabel’s memories of those next moments were crystal clear. She had excused herself from Dipper, Candy, and Grenda who were busy making jokes about the ramshackle state of the Mystery Shack and approached Pacifica. She took a surprised Pacifica’s face in her hands because she needed the courage she found in herself whenever she lost herself in those gorgeous blue eyes, and said that Pacifica's parents were fools. She said Pacifica was a beautiful dove and furthermore that she was Mabel’s beautiful dove, and to mark her words and the occasion, gave Pacifica a tender kiss on the cheek. Feeling giddy from being as close as she ever would allow herself to be to confessing her feelings for Pacifica, Mabel then took the opportunity to display a bit of showmanship, very loudly declaring that any who mistreated Pacifica would suffer a dark fate at her hands and would taste her steel.

Following that, she had wrecked the joint with her grappling hook, and then the rest of the night was a complete blur…

* * *

Pacifica put her hand against Mabel's cheek snapping the tired girl back to the present where she was sitting in the Northwest’s car with a lapful of costume and a bunch of memories weighing her down. She felt herself blush uncontrollably, and she had to look down at the partially finished costume to hide her embarrassment. All she could do was think how warm Pacifica’s hand was, and how she never wanted to move again. She couldn’t look up because there was no way she could avoid looking like an idiot.

“Mabel?” Pacifica asked. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

She nodded but didn’t say anything forgetting momentarily how to word.

Pacifica’s hand moved from her cheek to cup her chin, and the blonde lifted her friend’s head until she could see her face. She looked at Mabel who was once again immediately lost in those blue eyes. Without warning, Pacifica leaned in and kissed Mabel hard on the lips. Mabel tasted the sticky sweetness of Pacifica’s lip gloss and she could smell strawberries. Pacifica’s shampoo always smelled like strawberries. Mabel opened her lips accepting Pacifica’s most welcome advances as the kiss deepened…

A metallic grinding sound woke Mabel with a start. She felt disoriented and looked around to see what was happening. The gates to the Northwest Manor were opening. The car was only just now arriving at the mansion. She had fallen asleep and had another stupid dream. The car pulled through the now-open gate and approached the house where Mabel could see Pacifica waiting. She was wearing a white sundress and a big, floppy hat. She was grinning and waving to her friend who was going to help her throw a great party and make up for the humiliating disaster of last year’s effort.

“Crap,” Mabel said quietly to herself thankful that there was a raised partition between herself and the driver. She had no idea what she had been saying in her sleep. Her stomach was all fluttery just at the sight of Pacifica through the window. She was doomed.

The car pulled up to the door, so Mabel closed her eyes and took a deep breath reminding herself that no matter how she did or didn’t feel, she must remain very aware of how Pacifica felt about her brother. Mabel decided she would go with Dipper's strategy of deny, deny, deny at all costs. Fortunately, she had time to regain her composure such as it was while the two girls unloaded Mabel’s bags of sewing items and accessories and costume material. It felt good that she had a chance to be productive. That would give her time to think and figure out a way to banish the unwanted affection from her heart.

But first there was lunch meaning alone-time with Pacifica… well, what passed for "alone-time" in a house full of servants anyway. There was a small table already prepared out back between the croquet lawn and the swimming pool when Mabel arrived, and the two girls sat down to a lunch of cucumber sandwiches, which were a particular favorite of Mabel’s. They were just so fancy. The morning sun had delivered on its promise of a lovely, sunny day, and Mabel wished she could have enjoyed it more, but she spent most of lunch trying to think of ways to stop wanting to confess everything to the pretty blonde with her beautiful eyes. If only Dipper could have kept his trap shut for once.

As lunch wrapped up, Pacifica asked with concern, “M, are you okay? You seem off today. Were the sandwiches a bad choice?”

Mabel shook her head. The last thing she wanted was to make Pacifica sad. “No, P! They’re great as always! Compliments to the chef,” she finished with her best smile.

The smile Pacifica returned was sheepish and somewhat hesitant. “Thanks,” she replied. "I did my best."

“You made them?” Mabel asked blinking.

The sheepish smile turned into a sarcastic smirk. “You seem surprised.”

“No, they’re great!”

Pacifica laughed. “It’s okay. They’re just cucumber sandwiches, M. I think I can handle that degree of difficulty.”

Mabel looked at the sandwiches and felt an unwanted, familiar twinge in her heart. “I mean… I’m honored. Pacifica Northwest personally made a lunch for me, Mabel Pines.” It was the truth although maybe not expressed with the magnitude of feeling surging through Mabel at that moment.

“Yes, sandwiches for the woman constructing a wonderful, personalized costume for a party I need very much to go well,” she responded laughing it off. Pacifica always knew the right thing to say and how to say it, and over the years, Pacifica's voice had developed a wonderful lilting quality that both attracted Mabel and made her feel like a clod with her own responses. This was exacerbated by Mabel's general interactions with people resembling a wrecking ball hitting a room full of porcelain dolls.

“No,” Mabel said. She knew she should probably let it go, but her heart rebelled at the notion. “That makes them incredibly special to me, P. You didn’t have to make them. You have an entire staff here waiting on you and guests. You didn’t have to make the sandwiches, but you wanted to and that means a lot to me!” She realized she was babbling and abruptly stopped. Mabel hoped she wasn’t blushing. She probably was. She had horribly rosy cheeks to start with.

Pacifica’s cheeks were red as well likely from embarrassment due to Mabel’s gushing. “I’ve given the staff the night off after they set up for the party. Honestly, I would have given them the entire day off since Mother and Father are away in Europe, and you and I are the only ones here, but they all said they wanted to at least set up before leaving.” She leaned in to whisper conspiratorially, “I think the staff actually likes me, no doubt due to your and Dipper’s influence on my maturity the past few years.” Mabel was flattered and probably would have said something witty if she wasn’t hypnotized by the strawberry scent of Pacifica’s hair.

“Yeah…” Her hair smelled so good… “I mean no, you’re a great person with or without us,” Mabel insisted. She had to focus better. If she couldn't, tonight would be a disaster. “And these sandwiches are really great!” For emphasis, Mabel took a large bit out of another sandwich and smiled. She really hoped she wasn’t coming across as deranged.

Pacifica seemed very amused. “I’ll have to make them again for you since you enjoy them so much.” Her smile dropped. “Can I tell you a secret?” She asked after a moment. “I’ve not told any of my other friends, including Dipper.”

Mabel nodded solemnly. “I’ll take it to my grave if you want.” She meant it, too. Pacifica’s trust was invaluable to Mabel.

Pacifica glanced around nervously despite knowing the nearest person was a man trimming edges at least forty yards away. “I’ve always been interested in cooking. Sometimes, I’ll sneak to the kitchens at night, and the chef will give me pointers.”

Mabel blinked. “That’s so cool! Wait, why is that a secret?”

Pacifica shrugged. “Because my parents don’t think it's very cool. I made the mistake of leaving the browser on my computer open to a culinary school’s admissions page a few months ago. That… didn’t go well.”

If there were people Mabel could accurately be described to hate, it would be the Northwests. Well, and Gideon. And a few other select people and creatures inhabiting Gravity Falls. But mostly the Northwests because they terrorized their daughter, and that was the most unforgivable thing Mabel could imagine.

She stood up with determination. “You’re going to culinary school if that’s your dream,” she said forcefully.

Pacifica motioned for Mabel to retake her seat. “I think I have to graduate high school first,” she said with a patient smile.

Mabel sat back down embarrassed. “Impulse control is a thing for me I suppose,” she admitted.

“I hadn’t noticed, M,” Pacifica teased. She picked up a sandwich and eyed it. “I know these are simple, but I’ve made some complex dishes. My parents couldn’t even tell they were mine and not Marcel’s. Oh, he’s our chef,” she informed Mabel. “He thinks I’m talented enough to be a chef, too, and he said I'm a natural. He’s been encouraging me to look at schools, and he lets me make lunch for the staff when I can.” She looked a bit panicked at her words and looked at Mabel with a very serious expression. “I ask to make lunch. I don't order him to let me. He has the right to say no. It’s his kitchen. But I _think_ they like the food. Why would he think I could make a go of culinary school if not?”

Without consciously thinking about it, Mabel took Pacifica’s free hand. “You have to do it, P. You have to go!” She realized what she was doing and took her hand back. “Sorry, I’m being bossy.”

“It’s okay. Thanks for believing in me,” Pacifica said. “But it doesn’t matter what I dream about. I’m going to be a wife. My family has made that very clear, and they’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen.”

"What does 'whatever it takes' mean, P?" Mabel asked afraid of the answer.

Pacifica didn't immediately respond and nervously played with her sandwich. "It means drastic measures even for them. It's… bad, M. I shouldn't go into details. I've probably already ruined lunch."

"No!" Mabel exclaimed. "You haven't ruined anything! They're so horrible,” Mabel said before she could stop herself. “I’m sorry, P! I didn’t mean…”

Pacifica held up a hand to cut her off. “No, that’s a perfect description for them. But they have a great deal of money and no morals or ethics meaning the end of any dreams I might have of culinary school.”

“I don’t get it, though. Why would they be so against you being a chef?” It was a perfectly fine line of work, and there were plenty of wealthy and famous chefs.

“They feel it’s not a proper for a Northwest to dirty her hands with labor, especially for other people's enjoyment. Plus, I’m the sole heir to the family name and fortune. According to my parents, I need to be married to a proper match and in their words, ‘continue the line.’”

“That’s gross! You’re not a baby machine.” Mabel felt like her brain might boil, and Pacifica's parents were very lucky there were a couple of continents and an ocean separating them from her.

“They seem to think I am.”

“You can’t go along with this, P. You just _can’t_.” Mabel’s hand was trembling. If Pacifica was with Dipper, he wouldn’t stop her from following her dream. This made it even more important that she get to work matchmaking.

Pacifica hesitated again. “There are… extenuating circumstances.”

“Alright,” Mabel replied. “What circumstances?” Her words came out with more heat than she intended, but she wasn't about to take them back.

Her friend shook her head and picked her words with care. “I can’t talk about it, Mabel. It’s not that I distrust you. I do trust you more than anyone, but…”

Mabel recalled last night’s discussion with her brother. “You need someone who can just listen, and I… don’t really just listen, do I?” She felt sick to her stomach. She hated not being able to fix this situation. She hated that the only thing in the world that frightened Pacifica—other than the very understandable instances of mortal danger Dipper's investigations frequently led to—were her parents, and Mabel had no idea how to even start helping fix that.

“I promise I’ll tell you everything soon, okay?” Pacifica pleaded. Her eyes were moist. Mabel wanted nothing more than to comfort her, to take Pacifica into her arms and hold her until she felt better. She couldn’t do that though.

“Deal," Mabel said agreeing. "I trust you, too. You wouldn’t keep something from me unless you had a good reason.” Mabel needed to show Pacifica that she could count on her, even if it hurt a lot feeling left out of the loop.

Pacifica's smile returned and she squeezed Mabel’s hand reassuringly, which distressed Mabel because she should be the one doing the reassuring. Pacifica continued to hold Mabel's hand while she spoke again. “Thank you for trusting me. And thank you for letting me entrust you with my dream. It would be nice, wouldn’t it, M?” Pacifica continued. “Dipper will be a world-famous scientist, and you’ll be a world famous-fashion designer, and I might have been a chef in my own restaurant. It’s a really nice dream.” She ended looking out to the horizon and the endless forest. She looked sad as if she knew the last part at least would never happen.

She was wrong.

“Well then,” Mabel said. “Let’s get to work. I have a costume to perfect, and if you think for one second that I’m going to stop until you are in culinary school living your dream life, then you don’t know me at all, Pacifica Elise Northwest.” Mabel remembered her words from last year very well. Maybe it had been a dumb thing to say, but she had said it and meant it, and she wasn't going to go back on her word now. Anyone that tried to stop her from making Pacifica’s dream come true would taste her steel… or at the very least be in for a severe dressing down.

Mabel didn’t wait for a response. She marched towards the room Pacifica had set aside for costume fitting with Pacifica trailing along.

“You are a force of nature, Mabel Pines,” Pacifica said from behind.

“Damn right I am,” Mabel affirmed.

Maybe she wouldn't ever be the one Pacifica loved. Maybe she couldn't hold her and make her feel safe and loved and protected. Maybe she wasn't the reason Pacifica wanted to get up in the morning and go to bed at night. But she was going to be the one to make Pacifica's dream happen. This would be Mabel's true gift to the girl she loved, not a silly Summerween costume.


	4. Chapter 4

The fitting and alterations nearly went off the rails before they began. Mabel had failed to anticipate the small matter of Pacifica putting on what existed of the costume so Mabel could work, which meant Pacifica had to strip down to her bra and panties because it wasn’t as if she could put the costume on _over_ her dress. As Pacifica began to slip out of her sundress, Mabel froze momentarily unable to look away as her brain lost the capacity for rational thought. Quickly realizing that this was a one-way ticket to Very Inappropriate, Mabel nervously busied herself finding some important fabric she had “forgotten” in her bag. Well, it was unimportant for the costume, but it was important to Mabel. Very important at that. Her fake rummaging lasted only long enough for her to realize that Pacifica couldn’t get into the costume by herself. Mabel sighed. She must have done something really bad in a past life. Willing her suddenly lurid imagination into submission, Mabel tried to think about baseball while helping her friend into the partial costume. It was regrettable that Mabel knew absolutely nothing about baseball, so that didn’t help very much. Spotting a picture of a younger Pacifica with her parents gave Mabel something to distract from unwanted thoughts. Mabel had important things to accomplish, and none of that could happen until the costume was finished.

Mabel started alterations immediately once Pacifica was ready and standing on a stool, and she worked steadily for more than an hour. “Sorry,” Mabel apologized. She could see finishing would take them right up to the time the party was supposed to start if she was fast… and lucky. “This is taking so much longer than it should have. I just wasn’t able to get going last night after you left.”

“M, I’ve told you there’s no need to apologize. Not inspired?”

“No, the inspiration’s great,” she responded quietly. She was glad Pacifica was standing on a stool looking straight ahead unable to see Mabel's face and hoped very much that Pacifica thought that her noticeably odd behavior was because she was focused on the costume. “I didn’t sleep well last night is all,” Mabel said. She didn’t want to lie unless she had no choice. It would be unfair to Pacifica, and Mabel felt unsettled enough as it was. Mabel getting caught up in keeping any lies straight would only make mistakes more likely, and getting this costume and party right might get Pacifica’s parents off her back. That was far more important than Mabel’s feelings.

“Why? Is something the matter?” Pacifica asked interrupting Mabel's brooding.

“I’m… nervous about tonight.” Also not a lie.

Pacifica looked down at Mabel from her stool. “Because of last year?”

“Yes,” Mabel replied. Technically true.

“Stop for a moment, please?” Pacifica asked.

Mabel stopped and looked up at the blonde. She had been avoiding doing so as much as possible.

Pacifica continued, “How can I convince you that you have absolutely nothing to feel guilty about?”

Mabel shook her head. “P, It’s okay. I just… I really need to finish this.” She bent down to begin work again, but Pacifica interrupted.

“I only…” Pacifica paused searching for words. “I only want you to understand that I don’t regret last year’s party. Not one little bit.”

Mabel looked up and they shared a smile. “Thanks,” she replied and went back to work. Mabel knew that Pacifica wouldn’t feel that way if she knew the truth. This was going to be difficult, but Mabel truly believed she could get through tonight and then start making things right with her friend and her brother.

Pacifica began idly chatting about various events and friends. She stuck to light, uncontroversial topics. Nothing too stressful. Mabel knew that Pacifica was trying to soothe her, and was thankful. It was just another reason she felt the way she did. Pacifica instinctively knew what Mabel needed, and she instinctively took care of Mabel, which was a favor Mabel intended to return. First she would finish the costume, then she would help the party go great, and then she would get to work on The Dipper Problem as she had begun thinking of it.

The work stretched for the next few hours with Mabel giving Pacifica breaks periodically. She was being great about standing for the necessary time as Mabel worked, but Mabel could tell her friend was beginning to get antsy about the party setup. A couple of times, staff poked their head in to discretely let Pacifica know that preparations were going well.

Finally, the costume was finished.

“It’s lovely!” Pacifica said with a smile. Her witch’s costume was dark blue with pale blue sections for highlights. Mabel had been originally been inspired to pick her Summerween costume from last year because the lighter parts of the costume matched Pacifica’s eyes perfectly. She had even added a deep-lilac lace trimming to the pale blue corset to match Pacifica’s favored eyeshadow. It was time for the final touch.

“Thanks,” Mabel said. “You’re almost ready.” She fiddled nervously with a box she had pulled out of her supplies. “Here,” she said thrusting the box at her friend.

“What’s this, M?” Pacifica asked.

“Open it,” she said. “Completes the costume.” Mabel didn’t trust herself to elaborate. She was already close to gushing over how beautiful Pacifica looked.

Pacifica opened the box with a grin. “Oh, these are beautiful!” She lifted out a pair of topaz earrings and a pearl necklace with a purple jade pendant Mabel had added. 

“They’re my mom’s… Well, they were hers before she gave them to me,” Mabel said helping Pacifica fasten the necklace. “And now they’re yours.”

“These are too beautiful for you to just give away, M!” Pacifica said turning to face her friend with a wide smile. “I’ll make sure you get them back after the party.”

“No,” Mabel insisted. The jewelry was beautiful on Pacifica just as everything was. “I want you to have them!” She waved away Pacifica’s protests. “You gave me this chance to design your costume, and you’re letting me partner with you, too!”

Pacifica hugged her friend. “I’ll treasure them. And…” Pacifca trailed off as she went over to her vanity and looked through a beautifully carved jewelry box plucking out an item. “There's something I want you to have, too,” she continued.

Walking over to Mabel, Pacifica handed her an amber pendant on a leather cord. “Do you remember this, M?”

She certainly did. “You bought this last year at the end-of-summer craft fair downtown.” Mabel hadn’t been sure why Pacifica had bought the pendant. It was rudimentary and plain in Mabel’s opinion.

“Your brother and Ford were busy off investigating who knows what while Stan acted like seeing crafts was a fate worse than death, so it was just you and me at the fair.” Pacifica had a wistful smile perhaps reliving the day in her head.

“Yeah,” Mabel replied. “We had fun,though, right?” She felt bad asking, but she needed to hear just once more that Pacifica had enjoyed time with her without Dipper’s presence being required. It made Mabel feel silly and foolish, but letting go of the fantasy she had of being with Pacifica was hard.

Pacifica’s smile lit up Mabel’s heart. “Of course! You know there’s no one that I enjoy spending time with more than you!”

Mabel wasn’t sure of that at all, but returned the smile. “I never really got why you wanted this pendant. It’s kinda plain.”

That seemed a safer topic than how much Pacifica might or might not enjoy spending time alone with Mabel. She looked down at the pendant. Pacifica must think it would look nice with Mabel’s red and pink costume and had to admit the golden color of the amber would match well.

Pacifica cupped Mabel’s cheek and raised her head in a way so similar to Mabel’s dream that for a second, Mabel thought she must be dreaming again, but Pacifica removed her hand without the deep kiss from the dream. Where her hand had touched Mabel’s face felt tingly.

“I don’t think it’s plain at all, M.” Pacifica said taking the pendant back and holding it up to the soft twilight coming from the bedroom window for Mabel to see. “The way it catches light and makes everything look warmer. It’s like it glows from the inside. I feel so reassured and confident when I wear it.” She paused and handed the necklace back to Mabel. “I want you to have it. It reminds me of you.”

“Me?” Mabel asked curiously.

“Yes, you do for everyone what this pendant does for me. You make people feel warm and welcome, and I think it’s quite beautiful just like you," she said as she handed the fastened the pendant around Mabel's neck.

Mabel struggled to respond and held the pendant up again hoping to see what Pacifica saw.

“Thank you,” she managed to get out. She felt overwhelmed and had to keep repeating to herself that crying would be a bad idea. Whether she wanted to cry due to joy that Pacifica saw some sort of worth in her or due to despair that she couldn’t see any such thing in herself was a mystery Mabel was unable to solve.

She cleared her throat and looked up again at Pacifica. The other girl was blushing, too. Mabel regretted making a big deal out of a friendly gift and embarrassing her friend.

“Thank you for letting me wear this!” Mabel exclaimed. Her eyes were a bit blurry, but she promised herself she wouldn’t cry.

“I’m so glad,” Pacifica said. She hugged Mabel tightly. “We have to take lots of pictures! Dipper will be so jealous that he missed such a great party!”

That was all Mabel needed to hear although she felt regret at Pacifica’s words. It was great that Pacifica was thinking about Dipper. It truly was. That was for the best.

“Alright,” Mabel responded. “I need to get into my costume, too!” The hug was starting to make her feel a bit too warm.

Mabel shooed her friend out and changed. She was proud of herself. She only cried for a few minutes and didn’t end up looking splotchy. It still took over half an hour to dress and put on her makeup, but she was glad to have some time to just breathe without worrying that she would say something dumb.

By the time she finished and found Pacifica at the stop of the staircase, quite a few guests had already arrived and looked to be having a great time. Mabel could see some of the staff had stayed on to make sure the party started well.

“Everything looks great,” Mabel said happily. “Ready to greet your guests, P?”

“I think you mean ‘our guests,’ M,” Pacifica said and smiled.

“Of course,” Mabel answered. “I don’t know what I was thinking. Ready to greet our guests?”

“Always,” Pacifica responded and they descended the stairs arm in arm.

The next several hours were perfect for Mabel, especially considering just last night she thought the highlight of her weekend would be watching Duck-Tective and pigging out on ice cream. Everyone was having a great time as Mabel and Pacifica drifted between groups of guests sometimes together and sometimes singly. The staff left after about an hour, and both Mabel and Pacifica saw them off. They were truly fond of Pacifica, which relieved Mabel. She hated how Pacifica was stuck in this house with her hateful parents. At least she had some allies in the house.

As time passed, Mabel relaxed and mingled. The party was fun, but she especially cherished the moments she had with Pacifica and found herself wistful that this would be the only time she ever got to do this. She could feel her resolve not to tell Pacifica about her feelings slipping as the night went on even as she knew it would be a horrible mistake. She couldn't ruin this. It was her one and only chance to co-host a party with the girl of her dreams, and she would make the most of it.

At one point while Pacifica was off saying hello to a school friend, Mabel had a chance to speak with Candy and Grenda who were talking to several kids from town that Mabel only knew in passing. It had went about as well as she could expect. Candy was still angry, but it was less pointed than it had been, and Grenda had assured Mabel that Candy was happy and had found a special person to date. Even if Candy never really forgave her, Mabel was glad. She wanted her friend to be happy.

She politely excused herself from Grenda after a few minutes, and went to get some punch making sure to avoid the alcoholic version. There was no need to repeat the past.

As she sipped her punch and wondered where Pacifica had gotten off to, a pretty girl in a fairy costume approached her. Mabel could smell alcohol coming off her from several feet away.

“Hi,” the newcomer said with a smirk. “I’m Amanda. Pacifica and I go to school together." She sat on the edge of the refreshments table and leaned into Mabel's personal space looking her up and down. "So you’re Pacifica’s new… friend?”

Mabel wasn’t sure if a person could pack more sarcasm into a word than this Amanda had the word “friend” and had a bad vibe about the girl. She decided to make this as brief as possible.

“Um… no, not new. We’ve been friends for years. I was about to go looking for her, so if you’ll excuse me…” She turned to leave but Amanda grabbed her by the arm.

“There’s no rush!” She said pulling Mabel around. “What’s your name?”

“Mabel,” she said doing her best not to wretch. She wondered how much the girl had had to drink.

“So you’ve known our sweet, sweet Pacifica for years? I bet you know all sorts of… interesting things about her, don’t you?”

She finished with a leer and reached out caressing Mabel’s arm causing her to shudder.

“Er… I suppose?” Mabel had no idea precisely what this person wanted, but Amanda sure wasn't disguising very well the fact she didn't like Pacifica.

Amanda laughed. “She’s such a dear, isn’t she? And so great at making new… friends.”

“I honestly have no idea what you’re talking about, and I don’t really want to.”

Amanda giggled. “Then run along after our dear Pacifica like a good girl. I’m sure she’ll appreciate your efforts!” She walked off laughing.

“Whatever,” Mabel muttered. But Amanda had been right about one thing. She should find Pacifica. The encounter had unsettled Mabel and she wanted to make sure she found Pacifica before this Amanda person did. She wondered why Pacifica had invited someone so obnoxious in the first place, and as soon as she found her, she would ask that very question.

Pacifica wasn’t immediately visible to Mabel who began weaving in and around groupings of partygoers as she searched. Not finding her in any of the rooms designated for the party, she slipped under the ropes cutting off the other wing of the mansion hoping that no overly amorous partiers had already done so. She would prefer not to walk in on _that_ stuff while trying to find the missing hostess. After a few minutes of looking up and down the darkened corridors, she heard Pacifica’s voice ahead, which was a relief because Mabel felt a bit lost at that point.

She stopped at a closed door with light peeking out from under. She couldn’t make out the exact words through the thick wood, but she would know Pacifica’s voice anywhere, and she sounded angry. Putting her hand to the door, Mabel hesitated wondering if Pacifica would resent the intrusion into her privacy. She made the decision she would rather risk making her friend angry than risk not being there if she was needed and pushed the door open. Pacifica was sitting on the edge of the desk positioned prominently in the middle of the room. This must be her father’s study.

Pacifica’s face was a picture of frustration, but she gave Mabel a quick smile and motioned her to sit. Mabel complied curious as to what was going on.

“Yes, Father,” Pacifica said clueing Mabel in to the voice on the other side of the line. “I’ve told you already that Dipper couldn’t be here because…”

She stopped speaking as the voice on the other end of the line interrupted. Mabel could almost make out the words due to Mr. Northwest’s raised voice.

At the next pause, Pacifica continued. “I understand this was the agreement, but he’s assured me he will make several appearances at the yacht club…” Another pause. “But that was what you wanted in the first place!”

Pacifica rubbed her temple. Mabel wished she could do more than just sit there confused. She also had to admit she was curious as to what her brother had agreed to do and why it involved yacht clubs.

“Do you want this non-scandal to go away or not?” She rolled her eyes at his response. “No, I don’t think it’s an actual scandal, but since you do and you’re the one threatening…” There was a brief but loud burst of noise from the phone. “Yes, Father, Northwests don’t threaten…” 

She pulled the phone away from her ear briefly as Mr. Northwest shouted again. Gingerly putting the phone back to her ear she said, “One missed party doesn’t break the deal. Dipper will go to the yacht club as agreed, and then we’ll have a massive fight where he insists I cheated on him because as you said, ‘No one cheats on a Northwest. We do the cheating,’ and then it will all be over. You’ll have what you want.”

Another pause as Pacifica listened. “Yes, it’s a thorough plan and I’m very grateful you gave me this chance to make amends.” She did not sound grateful. “What do you mean I do not sound grateful? You’re the one threatening…” Another shout from her father. “I apologize, Father. I misspoke. I agree that you never threaten, but the point stands. I will have fulfilled my part of the agreement, and you in turn agreed to leave their parents alone…”

Mabel refocused her attention. What about her parents?

Pacifica now looked furious. “You agreed, Father! If you need to ‘consider your next move’ then perhaps I’ll consider mine!” More shouting from the other end of the line. Pacifica looked defeated by whatever her father was now saying. “No, Father, I value them very much and wouldn’t want to see… Yes, Father, I’ll be a good girl… Thank you. I understand you’re very busy on your vacation, and I hope you have a safe trip. Yes, I love you too, Father. Give my best to Mother.” 

Pacifica killed the connection, and growled in frustration. “Sorry you had to walk in on that, M. I’m guessing you have questions.”

“Tons,” Mabel replied.

Pacifica looked around the room. “I hate this study. Can we go elsewhere?”

Mabel nodded. She was impatient to find out what was going on, but Pacifica didn’t need her adding to the frustration. “Whatever you need, P.”

Pacifica led Mabel down the darkened corridors and pushed open a door Mabel recognized. They were now in a too familiar long hall with dark, mahogany tables and beautiful chandeliers. 

Mabel blanched. “I need to sit down.” She took the nearest seat at the first table.

Her friend sat beside her. Pacifica’s face had brightened considerably in this room. “I know you’re not exactly fond of your memories of this room, but actually, it's my favorite room in the entire house.”

“Even after last year?”

Pacifica nodded. “Because of last year.” She looked at Mabel with concern. “You have to stop feeling so guilty about that. We have plenty of chandeliers.”

“I can’t. It’s not the property damage although yeah, I’m still sorry about that. It’s the people. I hurt people I care about, and I don’t like being a person who hurts other people.”

Her friend looked puzzled. “Who did you hurt?”

“Candy?” Mabel asked wondering how Pacifica managed to forget.

“Break-ups happen. That party didn’t end your relationship. I think everyone but Candy knew it wasn’t going to work.”

Mabel shrugged. “Maybe…”

“There’s no ‘maybe’ about it, M,” Pacifica insisted, and she was right.

“I still hurt her. And I hurt Dipper… and you.”

Pacifica raised an eyebrow. Mabel knew that look. It meant she was highly annoyed. “I think I would know if I was hurt, and Dipper certainly isn’t hurt. He and I have talked about that,” she stated. “And before you ask, he wouldn’t give me any details. He said you think you’ve hurt him somehow that night, and it’s a private conversation and if you want me to know, you’ll talk to me about it.”

“You two do spend a lot of time talking.” She shouldn’t feel as raw as she did by how close Pacifica and Dipper had become—she had encouraged it after all—but she still felt jealous.

“We do,” Pacifica said with a gentle smile. “He’s my best friend. That doesn’t mean I don’t value you every bit as much, M. Do you want to talk about what’s bothering you lately?”

Mabel didn’t respond. There weren’t many options at this point if she didn’t want to come clean about everything.

“M, do you want to talk about it? If not, consider it dropped.”

Thinking about it for a second, Mabel nodded and said, “Yes, I want to talk about it.” She did. Trying to stuff everything in and hold it there wasn’t working. Mabel felt like she might snap at any moment, and Pacifica deserved to know the truth. That way Pacifica could gently let Mabel down, and assure her that she was still her friend and that awkward crushes happened all the time, and then Pacifica and Dipper could get on with figuring out they should be together.

But first Mabel had to say what she needed to say to clear the way. “I’m in love with you. I have been for a while.”

“I… see,” Pacifica said, her face turning crimson. It was natural to be embarrassed with Mabel’s words coming out of the blue like they were.

“And that hurts Dipper because I’m pretty sure he’s in love with you, too,” Mabel continued.

Pacifica started to speak, but Mabel talked over her.

“Let me finish, P. This is hard enough.” Seeing that Pacifica was willing to let her continue, Mabel took a deep breath and pushed on. “He has feelings for you. I don’t see how he couldn’t. You’re pretty perfect.”

Pacifica laughed, but didn’t say anything giving Mabel the space she needed to talk.

“So yeah, I’ve hurt him… and I hurt you because you deserved not to have to deal with me causing a scene like I did last year getting you in hot water with your parents and now I’m doing it again this year and you don’t deserve that either. You deserve someone who is going to be amazing…”

Pacifica interrupted her forcefully. “Mabel Pines, you _are_ amazing, and anyone would be lucky to love you and be loved by you.” She had a hard set to her mouth indicating she would brook no argument.

Mabel took her up on the challenge. “Really? Right before the first time we came up here to Gravity Falls… at the end of the school year, the teacher asked us what we wanted to be when we grew up and what our summer plans were. Dipper talked about going to prestigious universities and making great discoveries, and his plans for the summer were to read as much as he could because he didn’t want to miss an opportunity to learn. He’s always been ambitious.” Mabel paused for just a moment embarrassed at what was to come next. “My summer plans were to fall in love, and my life goal was to fall in love.”

She looked at Pacifica whose expression was unreadable, but Mabel needed the courage she found in her friend’s lovely eyes. “And that’s me in a nutshell, P. I don’t really have drive or ambition, and I’m not nearly as smart as you guys. I’m just… funny, and I get to hang around because people get a good laugh. I’m never going to be a great fashion designer. I don’t have the focus or the drive, and you deserve that. You deserve better than me. You’re the Northwest heir and despite how awful your parents are, you’ll do a lot of good for a lot of people. Dipper’s going to be a famous scientist and change the world. But I’m never going to matter.” She wound down unsure how to proceed further.

“My turn?” Pacifica asked quietly.

Mabel nodded.

“Good. First let’s address this idiocy about you not being good enough for me. Several conversations with Dipper suddenly make a great deal more sense.” Pacifica blew out a frustrated breath. “You’re smart enough to have saved us from the stupid weirdness of this town more than once, and I’ve seen you when you work on costumes and outfits. Sure, when you were younger, you might have went to the glitter a bit much, but when you start working, you… transform. You are focused, and you’re brilliant.”

She stared at Mabel who could see tears starting to build up in her eyes. “I brought you here for a reason. This room, I mean.”

“Why?” Mabel asked.

“Because you do matter, Mabel. You matter to me more than anyone. This is what Dipper had warned me about. He didn’t want me to talk about this room and what it means to me until the situation with your parents is resolved. He thinks you’ll decide it’s all your fault, and I can see now he’s quite possibly correct that you’ll do just that, but I can't keep it from you if you're miserable already. I hadn't said anything until now because your brother can be convincing, but I believe in you, M. Just remember that, alright?”

Mabel nodded. She had spent all her energy making the costume and denying her feelings and worrying that she would never be happy. She had no fight left.

Pacifica took Mabel’s hand although she wished Pacifica hadn’t since she felt sweaty and was sure Pacifica would notice. “My father is threatening to shut down your dad’s company and then blacklist him. He bought a controlling interest and wants… certain things… before he’ll back down, but tonight he indicated that he might not spare your family no matter what I do.”

“What does he want, P?” Mabel asked. She hoped desperately she could help somehow. She hadn’t realized her parents were in trouble, and she was mad her brother hadn’t told her. That was for later, though, when he returned. Then she would let him know just how she felt about that.

“Last year at school, I dated someone who didn’t meet his approval.”

“That’s it?” Mabel asked surprised. “You just dated a guy he doesn’t like? That’s what Amanda was talking about?”

“Ah, you met Amanda then. My apologies. My parents insisted I invite her so she could witness me being cuddly with Dipper.”

The notion of Pacifica and Dipper cuddling didn’t sit well with Mabel, but she pushed those feelings aside. She would need to get used to it in the end.

“She won't buy it,” Pacifica went on. “The whole plan is stupid. Amanda isn’t going to believe for a second that I’m with Dipper. She’s the one that caught me kissing Rebecca after all.”

“Re—What now?” Mabel hadn’t heard that correctly. She couldn’t have.

“She’s a senior who goes to my school. She’s on the swim team, and cheerleaders and jocks go to the same parties. We had met a few times at those. She’s pretty and funny and we dated and that was a lot of fun even though we weren’t too serious," Pacifica said, her words spilling out in a nervous babble. She steadied herself and said, "I should start at the beginning, though.”

“Okay.” Mabel was still trying to process the information and was quite okay with Pacifica taking the lead on the conversation while she mulled things over.

“Last year after… you know…” she motioned towards the chandeliers and the window. Mabel did indeed know. “Well, when you kissed me, I felt… something. I hadn’t really felt anything like that before. I mean… I felt some attraction towards people, and yes that includes Dipper, but I think my attraction to your brother was mostly on an intellectual level… and due to certain family resemblances.” Pacifica’s cheeks were beet red. 

”Oh,” was the only response she could muster. Mabel thought if she were smoother, this would be the time for a witty line that swept the other girl off her feet, and for the first time ever, she wished she had some tequila. Pacifica’s hand felt a bit sweaty now as well, which comforted Mabel a bit knowing it wasn’t just her. 

Pacifica cleared her throat. “I should have said something immediately after, but Candy was so heartbroken and you felt so guilty and my parents went ballistic over the damages. I just thought I would give it some time, and maybe I should… date a bit to see if how I felt was true. Are you mad at me? For dating?” Her face was a beautiful mixture of fright and determination like she might either run away or grab hold of Mabel and never let go.

Mabel smiled and shook her head. “No,” she said. Words were still getting stuck in her throat.

“Thank you. That… means a great deal to me. I didn’t want to lead you on, and I want to stress Rebecca and I both agreed that we weren’t serious. It was… just relaxing and fun. But then Amanda got nosy. She’s really dedicated to being HBIC and felt that I was a threat to her. I promise you I hadn’t been playing popularity games.” 

Mabel knew she was sincere and that she wasn’t the same person she used to be. She squeezed Pacifica’s hand reassuringly. “She’s got the B part down.”

Pacifica giggled. “She does, doesn’t she?” She and Mabel shared a laugh breaking the tension slightly. “She started a rumor campaign, and not just that Rebecca and I were seeing each other secretly, but that I was blackmailing Rebecca for favors and trying to do the same to other girls.” She grimaced at the thought. “And it didn’t take long before the rumors spread to parents, and suddenly there was Father being his absolutely horrible self.”

“I’m so sorry, P,” Mabel said sympathetically.

“It worked out okay at first, which is weird, but it did. Rebecca suddenly received a scholarship to a great university with a great swim team very, very far away from here. Like I said, we weren’t serious and I can’t hold taking that scholarship against her. We still text, but I can stop talking to her if you don’t like it.”

“No! No, I’m not like that… and we aren’t even… you know…” Mabel thought her complexion probably matched the red of her costume by this point.

“If you’re okay with it. She’s a good person and I would like to still be her friend." Pacifica took a deep breath and stared up at the ceiling. "Anyway, I was forbidden from dating, and that’s when the whole awful breeding talk started from my parents.”

“Are they insane? I mean that. Literally. Are they insane? Because that is so disgusting.”

“Tell me about it, but I could have lived with that. They couldn’t _make_ me marry a guy and start pumping out babies.” Pacifica halted obviously hesitant to continue.

“It’s okay, P. If you can’t talk about it…”

Pacifica shook her head. “No, it’s just that Mother and Father went through my room and found my scrapbook journal… in which you… feature prominently… including the beach trip we took last year with your family… and that bikini you wore…” Pacifica flushed bright red again.

“I…” Mabel began but stopped. That melty-gooey feeling from last year had returned stronger than ever. She had no idea what to say. There were just too many emotions running through her head. So she decided as she often did that action was preferable to words. She cupped Pacifica’s face with both her hands and kissed her deeply, and was deliriously happy that her affections were returned. That kiss turned into several kisses, and Mabel tried very hard not to maul the beautiful blonde girl.

Pacifica for her part, returned the kisses with vigor and her hands roamed freely. This did not displease Mabel. After who knew how long, the two parted breathless. “Wow,” was all Pacifica could say.

That was all the encouragement Mabel needed for another round of furious kissing. They finally broke apart again several minutes later. Somehow, the they had transitioned to making out on top of the table with Mabel lying on top of Pacifica who seemed entranced running her fingers through Mabel’s long, dark hair.

“I love you,” Mabel said stating the obvious.

“I had hoped after your very romantic rescue attempt last year that you did,” Pacifica said still catching her breath. “I’m glad because I’m head over heels for you.”

Mabel kissed Pacifica right where her jaw met her neck and giggled. She never wanted this feeling to end… but it had to end at least until they could find a way out of the mess Pacifica’s parents had made. Sitting up, she helped Pacifica up as well. “What do we do now, P?” She asked.

“First, we should… um… make sure our costumes are intact.” She glanced at Mabel’s outfit.

Mabel’s hands instinctively went to her blouse. It wouldn’t be the first time or outfit from which she had popped free in the past couple years. She stopped when she saw Pacifica grinning. “Do you mind?” Mabel asked with a broad smile and faux outrage.

“Not at all. Continue, please,” Pacifica replied pointedly not taking her eyes off Mabel.

Mabel stuck her tongue out and finished adjusting her own costume before moving to help Pacifica do the same… and maybe her fingers occasionally lingered… and maybe she occasionally kissed the blonde on the neck while cinching the corset from behind.

Once they were both presentable again, Pacifica turned to Mabel. “We’re going to figure this out together. We’ll fix this, M. It’ll be nice having you beside Dipper and me while we do it.”

Mabel sighed feeling a bit crestfallen.

“What’s wrong?” Pacifica asked concerned.

“Well… we can’t really date while we do this, can we?”

Pacifica shook her head. “I think that may cause my father to do something incredibly stupid.”

“Yeah,” she agreed. “Also my brother is going to be so damn smug.”

Pacifica snorted with laughter. “When isn’t he, M?” She took Mabel’s hand. “I think we can get through this together… and maybe a ‘friendly sleepover’ or several will help?”

Mabel grinned. “I like that idea.”

“Ready?” Pacifica asked.

Mabel would never get tired of looking into those beautiful eyes. She squeezed Pacifica’s hand and smiled. “Always.”

They returned to the party feeling confident they would find a way to deal with Pacifica’s parents.

And then nothing or no one was ever going to come between them again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading! The reception has been great, so there will be a sequel in a few months!


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